Incoming 2014 – FIFA World Cup 2014

The competition needs to get some attention from EA Sports

What we know: The biggest sporting event of the year will take place in summer in Brazil and it is focused on the quest of 32 teams from as many nations to become the World Champion in football.

Such an event presents an obvious opportunity for the FIFA series from EA Sports, which leads the gaming world when it comes to simulating the phenomenon.

Andre Wilson, the chief executive officer of Electronic Arts, told investors that a title linked to the competition was in development, but no official details were offered since late October.

At the same time, EA Sports said that it might lack the resources to create a full-blown game and might only deliver an update for its already existing FIFA 14.

Given that the competition starts in June, an official announcement and details on the unique mechanics of the World Cup game should be available pretty soon.

It’s highly unlikely that the new experience will offer any sort of entirely new gameplay and will probably only focus on updating the squads, making sure that the ratings of the players reflect the real world, and on adding some new stadiums and crowd animations.

Fans will also be able to take smaller teams in the world and qualify them for the World Cup.

Why it matters: FIFA World Cup 2014 might never be an actual physical release, but it might serve as a way to test the digital distribution philosophy that Electronic Arts has been promoting for the last few years.

As long as the team picks a good price point, launching a download-only experience based on the FIFA 14 engine can satisfy the long-term fans of the football sim, while also adding a solid revenue source.